Hyundai 5K benefits cancer research

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Sisters, from left, Debi Buresh , Leslie Cancellieri , Teri Dallape and Rosie Horton ran the Hyundai 5K on Saturday in memory of Buresh's husband, who died of lymphoma earlier this year.

Leonard Sender is the medical director at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at the Children's Hospital of Orange County. "They have probably helped save the field of pediatric cancer around the country. At a time when economics are already tough and there's less federal funding, to have a company in Orange County with such corporate responsibility is just amazing.”

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Yanny Pyo pushed her son Colin, 2, in a stroller at the Hyundai 5K fundraiser in Mile Square Park on Saturday. “I wanted to show him that mommy could do it... Hopefully, when he grows up he'll be athletic and motivated, both with sports and in life.”

The run-walk event raised $42,000 for Children’s Hospital of Orange County. It was the first of many that will be put on by Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a nonprofit arm of the Fountain Valley-based car company, as part of its nationwide campaign to raise awareness and money for pediatric cancer research.

Hyundai will travel to 41 hospitals across the country and deliver more than $10 million dollars to cancer research centers. The campaign will last through the end of September, National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

After the run, which started at 8 a.m., participants sprawled on hay-bale benches, munching on complimentary fruits and snacks and listening to a band and local leaders talk about the importance of cancer research.

“We’re just going to keep fighting until we find a cure,” Hyundai President John Krafcik told the crowd. Fountain Valley Mayor Mark McCurdy and state Sen. Lou Correa also made brief appearances on stage.

Some of the participants ran the 3.1 miles around lakes and through golf courses for the workout. Others were there for more personal reasons.

“I’m supporting lymphoma research,” said Debi Buresh, whose husband died of the disease earlier this year. Buresh lives in Sacramento but came down to run the race with her three sisters, one of whom volunteers at CHOC.

The Hyundai Hope On Wheels campaign will begin to move east across the country, stopping to deliver $250,000 checks to hospitals along the way.

The nonprofit already has donated $72 million to pediatric cancer research since it was founded in 1998.

“They have probably helped save the field of pediatric cancer around the country,” said race participant Leonard Sender, the medical director at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC. “At a time when economics are already tough and there’s less federal funding, to have a company in Orange County with such corporate responsibility is just amazing.”

Yanny Pyo of Cypress had a friend snap a picture of her and her toddler son, Colin, after they crossed beneath the balloon archway at the finish line. When asked why she had decided to run, she said she hoped it would encourage her son to be active.

“I wanted to show him that Mommy could do it,” she said. “Hopefully, when he grows up, he’ll be athletic and motivated, both with sports and in life.”

Then she laughed. “I also work for Hyundai.”

Leonard Sender is the medical director at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

“They have probably helped save the field of pediatric cancer around the country. At a time when economics are already tough and there’s less federal funding, to have a company in Orange County with such corporate responsibility is just amazing.”

Yanny Pyo pushed her son Colin, 2, in a stroller at the Hyundai 5K fundraiser in Mile Square Park on Saturday.

“I wanted to show him that mommy could do it… Hopefully, when he grows up he’ll be athletic and motivated, both with sports and in life.”